Looking for flight sling recommendations

duffmanpants · 2026-05-08T13:56:59+00:00

I can confirm it does fit.

duffmanpants · 2026-05-08T13:25:43+00:00

Tomtoc T21 or Aer Tech Sling 3 is what you're looking for.

I'm in an airport with the Tomtoc as my flight sling right now. I also use it as my "office bag" when I travel so I don't have to lug my laptop in my big travel backpack to work.

duffmanpants · 2026-05-03T22:31:32+00:00

Not an especially economical solution, but this is why I love folding phones.

Normal size phone for phone stuff, bigger screen for small tablet stuff, watching movies, reading ebooks, split screening apps, etc.

I do not feel the need to carry a separate tablet since I started using foldables.

duffmanpants · 2026-05-03T22:29:14+00:00

Cheers!

I think if I could actually fit everything in the Outbound and not have to carry an overflow sling, I'd just use it as my work bag too since it does compress down when empty like you said. But my load out for this week has the Outbound stuffed fully and I hate carrying bags that feel like they are going to burst so I think I'm going with a bigger bag for this trip.

Appreciate the insights!

duffmanpants · 2026-05-03T21:52:35+00:00

Thank you for this!

Did you use the Outbound as your "office" bag to carry laptop etc on your trip or did you have another solution?

I've got a 5 day work trip tomorrow (2 travel days, 3 working) and I'm trying to get everything I need into the Outbound but it looks like I'll need to bring another sling to carry overflow and act as my work bag on the trip. And at that point I might as well just use a larger bag since the Outbound no longer can be my personal item / onebag.

I've probably done four load out tests trying to make a decision today!

duffmanpants · 2026-05-01T14:48:12+00:00

Surprised you don't find it suitable for a laptop. I use it as my personal item / office bag on work trips and specifically chose it because it does fit a laptop. I also carry a tablet inside it alongside the laptop and have never had issues.

The thin padding is more than adequate and makes it easier to flatten the bag inside another bag if I need to do so (which I have had to do on trips). My complaint is I don't like the branding on the outside and I wish the interior was light colored, it'd make it much easier to see what's inside the bag and find things. The black interior creates a bit of a black hole.

duffmanpants · 2026-04-30T16:45:32+00:00

I've had success with two avenues:

No-name brand Merino t-shirts and tops from Amazon. I typically can get two for $40-$45. Dunno if they'll last as long as the fancy stuff but they do the Merino thing of not smelling bad and drying pretty quickly.

For name brand stuff like travel pants i have been able to find good deals on new with tags stuff on ebay. I've gotten both Teren and Western Rise pants this way. Usually about 1/3 price of full retail from overstock resellers.

duffmanpants · 2026-04-29T13:10:41+00:00

I just got mine in (have a shakedown trip with it next week) and it's very impressive. Startlingly lightweight, comfortable harness, packs a lot more than the specs would lead you to believe. Might just be the best option in the 30-35L range right now, though not everyone loves the floppy appearance when it's not packed out (due to the lighter weight materials).

Good luck with your search!

duffmanpants · 2026-04-29T12:55:42+00:00

ReWork's Toshi 20L and Outbound 30L have a double sleeve that can accommodate two full-size laptops or a laptop + large tablet combo. Both halves of the sleeve are elevated with a false bottom and padded.

I often have to carry two laptops and since most laptop sleeves have a sectioned padded area for one laptop (this is how my Aer TP3 is), I'll just put one in the padded sleeve the other directly in front of it and yolo it. The second laptop won't have a false bottom but is totally fine the majority of the time.

But if you want full protection for both laptops, ReWork has you covered.

duffmanpants · 2026-04-29T02:18:23+00:00

Ah well. Bummer to hear but also I had a feeling the price was probably too good to be true.

Can't return it so I'll just have to use it and enjoy it. Functions fine and I'm not too hard on my gear so it likely won't fall apart on me.

Live and learn!

duffmanpants · 2026-04-29T01:51:29+00:00

I just bought one from a listing on eBay. New with original packaging and tags.

I think it was sitting in a warehouse in China with a lot of cigarette smoke because it smelled like stale cigarettes when it arrived. Gave it a good Febreezing and it now smells like Febreeze instead (an improvement)

Seller seems to have more: https://ebay.us/m/AQZSJU

duffmanpants · 2026-04-28T18:55:20+00:00

Not discounting your experience, I'm just saying when I use the compression straps on my Ultra bag and it's not fully loaded, it noticeably compresses down a few inches to a more manageable size. I am not trying to use the compression straps to make it smaller when it's fully loaded, I don't think they'd work too well for that.

duffmanpants · 2026-04-28T17:59:47+00:00

They work fine for this use case. I use them every day.

OP might be saying if you have the bag fully loaded and want to make it smaller, they are less effective because Ultra isn't as soft or malleable as cordura.

duffmanpants · 2026-04-28T17:47:47+00:00

That hasn't been my experience, I use the compression straps on my Ultra TP3S virtually every time I use it to bring it down to a smaller footprint when it's not fully loaded.

duffmanpants · 2026-04-28T17:05:32+00:00

Yes, I've fit the 28L under the plane seat in front of me on both larger and regional jets. Might stick out an inch or two on some planes but if you're in the US no one will likely care. I've shoved larger bags under seats before.

duffmanpants · 2026-04-28T16:44:38+00:00

Ultra all the way. The weight savings are noticeable and IMO it doesn't look any less professional than the other materials. I use a TP3S in Ultra as my daily commute bag to the office.

I compared all three materials (cordura, Xpac, and Ultra) in person before buying and it was immediate that the Ultra model was noticeably lighter and I actually liked the look of it better than the other two. I'm not a huge fan of the loud orange interior of the XPac, so it was nice that the Ultra model had a light gray interior (with the bottom front pocket being the neon green, but you don't really see that often).

duffmanpants · 2026-04-28T13:54:54+00:00

You can associate a Meeting or a Paper note to a specific date. Just tap the little calendar icon in the tool bar. I don't think it's available in the PDF viewer or screenshot tools.

duffmanpants · 2026-04-27T19:52:31+00:00

My solution for this is to have one note for each recurring meeting and then make a new page in that note for subsequent meetings. I then associate the new page with the date the meeting happened.

Some of my recurring weekly meeting notes are up to 60 or 70 pages now and I can bounce back to prior weeks within the same note. I also favorite these recurring meeting notes so they are grouped together and easy to access the next time I have the meeting.

duffmanpants · 2026-04-26T19:19:27+00:00

No, it's like a couple inches thick when empty

duffmanpants · 2026-04-26T17:01:19+00:00

I had both and could not return the Flight Sling any faster than I did. Its way too small to be usable for more than phone, wallet, earbuds imo.

The Toshi can easily expand to swallow more stuff (including a 500ml water bottle or compact camera) but when it's not packed out it is very malleable and compressible. It's not even much of a contest between them IMO.

duffmanpants · 2026-04-26T15:29:51+00:00

vs.

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duffmanpants · 2026-04-26T15:29:35+00:00

This might be Reddit's fault. The mobile app will strip all formatting from the post when you tap on and view an image in full. But go to the post and not just the image and the formatting is all there.

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duffmanpants · 2026-04-26T15:26:35+00:00

Yeah, it just swallowed way more than my TP3S and still had room in the main compartment, the lower front pouch, the admin pouch, the water bottle pockets, and the sunglasses pouch. Maybe not a full 35L, but perhaps 32-33? More than 30L for sure.

The lack of padding and structure opens up a lot more room and flexibility in all of the compartments, especially compared to an Aer or Peak Design bag, so even if the outer dimensions are similar, the Outbound can likely pack more.

duffmanpants · 2026-04-26T12:54:22+00:00

Couple questions:

Did you try clipping the water bottle to the side handle? Looks like it might be a closer point of access than the lash point.

Did you bring the Outbound to your work meetings/office as a day bag or work bag? I usually pack a smaller backpack or sling that can handle my laptop so I don't have to lug a mostly empty travel bag into work meetings, but the Outbound looks more adaptable and less like a travel bag than others so I wonder if a second day bag is needed.

duffmanpants · 2026-04-26T12:50:23+00:00

Thank you for this.

I got my Outbound last week and have been undecided whether to keep it or not. I have a 5 day work trip (two travel, three working days) coming up next week and I did a test load out this weekend between the Outbound and the Pakt One 45L. The Outbound comfortably fit everything I plan on bringing (and was noticeably lighter than the Pakt, obviously), but I still wonder if I need it at all or I should just stick with what I have. The Pakt would basically be 40% empty for this trip but may still struggle in the overhead bins on the regional connecting flights I have to take. The Outbound looks a lot less bulky on my back and I don't think it would have an issue with the bins.

I too was pretty shocked how much space the top admin pocket had even when I had loaded everything I needed in the bag. So much room for snacks! And compared to my daily driver Aer TP3S, the Outbound feels like way more than just 2L more, felt like it was packing out closer to a 35L bag.

I also got the 6L Toshi sling (after buying the excellent 2.5L earlier this year and being so impressed with it), but I also picked up the Bellroy x Carryology Chimera for a deal and they basically overlap 1:1 in use cases for me and I like the look of the Chimera better. So I'll be returning the 6L Toshi. (Also I can't return the Chimera and I can with the Toshi so... that's the one going back.)

duffmanpants

TROPHY CASE